Bikepacking Europe

There's gravel to be found just minutes from the center of Scandinavia’s largest city. This overnight bikepacking adventure features 121km of mostly off-road riding and takes you through deep forests and remote singletrack, all within the greater urban area of the city. This is the Wilder Side of Stockholm...

Easily accessed with public transport from Bath, Bristol, and Cardiff, the Black Mountain lies to the west of the Brecons Beacons National Park, in South Wales. This 73 mile, largely un-trafficked and hilly route can be completed in two days, crossing the range twice to form a loop in and out of Aberdare, in the Cynon Valley. Wending through an area pocked with burial mounds, druid stones, caves, and old forts, expect singletrack, drovers' roads, forest roads, and the usual helping of Welsh bogs...

The Bear Bones Bash is a 230km loop through remote and sparsely populated Mid Wales. It promises a true gamut of riding conditions - from steep and winding back lanes, old drovers' tracks, and graded forest tracks, to tufty singletrack, hike-a-bikes and extended bog trots - across the crumpled folds of the beautiful Cambrian Mountains. The route also includes the potential of a night in a candle-lit bothy and a resupply in quirky Machynlleth, home to the world-renowned Centre of Alternative Technology.

Despite its proximity to Manchester and Sheffield, the Peak District National Park offers a surprisingly wild and remote bikepacker's playground, peppered as it is with rocky bridleways, slabby descents, and boggy moorland crossings. In short, it's a wonderful way of escaping either city for a long weekend of honest-to-goodness, old fashioned, multi-day mountain biking...

The Jura Traverse (Grande Traversée du Jura) is a classic French long-distance mountain bike route through a region known for its mountain scenery, quaint villages, and excellent cheese. This linear route runs some 421 kilometers from Mandeure to Culoz on the eastern part of France following the Doubs River and the Swiss border.

As the name suggests, the Purbeck Bimble isn’t a mile-crunching sufferfest. Rather, it's an exploratory ramble that uncovers almost every nook and cranny of Dorset's beguiling Isle of Purbeck. Because despite its modest proportions, this petite parcel of Dorset land is filled with many treasures, be it roller-coasting bridleways, a crumbling castle, quirky place names, spectacular ridge riding, gorgeous swimming coves, or fine local fare.

Easily reached by train from Bristol and Cardiff, the Brecons Bash is a route that connects two of the Brecon Beacons National Park’s classic ‘Killer Loops’, with some honest-to-goodness, Roughstuff-style bike pushing in between. Expect 17th Century drovers’ roads, ribbons of grassy, ridgetop singletrack, and during the summer, bountiful harvests of wild winberries...

The UK's (not so) New Forest makes a great locale for those dipping their toes in gravel riding, or anyone wishing to escape the Big Smoke for the night, and enjoy some forest bathing... bikepacking style. Of course, slow food is a big part of slow travel, so we've woven in local favourite eateries to this beautiful, mellow route too.

The GB DIVIDE route runs the length of Britain, linking its wild places with its rich industrial past. Riders will experience a diverse range of geographies and micro cultures to give them a unique perspective of the rich history that has shaped the British Isles. Bursting with climbs and technical descents, this route will reward those with versatile ‘all-road’ setups and attitudes… expect road, gravel, singletrack, and everything in between.

The Swedish Safari 300 bikepacking route links up some of the best scenery, points of interest, and nature reserves that South Stockholm and North Södermanland have to offer. The five day loop takes you from thick forests to coastal archipelago islands on endless, perfect gravel roads and technical singletrack giving you a glimpse of Swedish life, both past and present.

The Trans Verdon is the big brother of the Grande Traversée L’Alpes-Provence. Wending its way across a series of rugged, high alpine mountains, this five-day journey offers similarly enticing pâtisserie resupply points, albeit with longer sections of stunning and remote singletrack. Whilst both routes cross the same region of South East France and have a similar start point on the Italian border, each has its own unique character...

Picture high elevation plateaux, remote refugios, abundant wildlife, and kilometre upon kilometre of quiet forest roads… Welcome to Spanish Lapland, as it’s been dubbed, an area in SE Spain with a population density similar to its Finnish namesake. The 700km Montañas Vacías route offers a wonderful introduction to this little travelled area, linking the Montes Universales, Sierra de Javalambre, and Sierra de Gúdar via a dense network of doubletracks and quiet paved roads.

This laid back loop in Southwest England is a perfect late summer getaway in the Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park, home to singletrack, dirt roads galore, as well as cream tea and scones. It can be done in three to four days, making it ideal for a long weekend away from the big city.

Spanning 1,000 kilometers across Switzerland and nearly 100,000 feet of climbing, the Navad 1000 bikepacking route is steep, yet still very forgiving. Vertical miles lead to singletrack through meadows, crystal clear lakes, abbeys with courtyards, and, of course, stunning views. Here, physical challenge is paired with logistical ease. A bakery or a hot meal is never far, but along the way, you are basically alone among the pristine, natural beauty.

Sweet and Sauerland is a three-day bikepacking loop in the midwestern German region of Sauerland, well known for its hiking and biking. The region is crossed by two one-way hiking trails, the 230 km Sauerlandhöhenflug and the 157 km Rothaarsteig. This route combines parts of both tracks to create a loop through a remote, forested setting with many scenic viewpoints along the way.

Circling around the unique landscape of the Dolomites, in north-east Italy, the Trans-Dolomiti is one of the best ways to admire its ragged mountain peaks up close. Complete with stunning vistas, rocky roads, and some fun-riding singletrack, this route gets you up, down and around this especially beautiful mountain range.

The Ardennes Arbalète offers something for everyone: fast forest gravel, beat up singletrack, cruisey bike paths through castle-dotted valleys, quaint encounters with cheery locals, humbling reminders of the area’s poignant history, and the promise of fantastic beer around nearly every corner.

Just below the Arctic Circle, situated between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, a remote land emerges from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, dominated by huge glaciers, ashen deserts, and mighty lava structures. Here, along the fault line that crosses the island from north to south, the incessant work of fire and ice traced a route that runs through a world of immeasurable desolation and enthralling beauty, the Icelandic Highlands.